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This report gives an overview of the Italian food retail and distribution sectors and outlines current market trends, including best product prospects. Italy’s food retail sales reached $167.8 billion in 2021, a 2.9 percent increase compared to 2020 in spite of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. Increased sales were registered at discount stores (+6.0 percent), hypermarkets (+3.4 percent), supermarkets (+3.3 percent), grocery retailers (+1.2 percent), and convenience stores (+1.2 percent).

The Italian food-processing industry continues to be highly fragmented, characterized by a growing consolidation of smaller companies. The leading players tend to employ multichannel strategies, which have helped them to offset food service losses with higher sales in the retail channel during the COVID-19 pandemic.